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Confirmed with Link: Victor Mete signs entry level contract

CrAzYNiNe

CrAzYNiNe

who could have predicted?
Jun 5, 2003
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Not that I know much about this kid, but I wouldn't be heart broken if with the great season he had, be part of a trade that can help us acquire some help for right now.

Not saying that Victor Mete needs to be traded, but I would like to see MB take a risk and trade a guy with some high value based on potential to help fill some nagging holes. This kid looks to be 3-5 years away from being NHL ready (his size is an issue, not sure how he handles the size of men in the NHL)

Clearly I have more questions than answers, however given that he has progressed year after year in the OHL, that may be something other GMs will see along with positive information coming from their scouts that make him a desirable asset to acquire in a rebuild.
 
Adam Michaels

Adam Michaels

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After the OHL playoffs, is he clear to join the Ice Caps or Habs in time for playoffs seeing as he's under contract now? Maybe this is why they signed him now instead of waiting another year?
 
FrankMTL

FrankMTL

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Love what this poster wrote on the London Knights board:

"I have been watching London Knights hockey since the 1973-74 season, seen many great defensemen playing for the Knights, the likes of Scott Campbell, Rick Green, Rob Ramage, Brad Marsh, Steve Smith, Nick Stajduhar, Rick Corriveau, Dennis Wideman, Danny Syvret and Marc Methot Olli Maatta and I know I am missing some other greats. Victor Mete is in my opinion the very best defenseman I have seen in a Knights uniform over these years, yes a very big congrats to a small man doing big things for the Knights !!"
 
Deebs

Deebs

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I've only been able to watch Mete a few times this year but have always been impressed. Realistically, would it be fair to say that he could eventually become a 2nd pairing D man in the NHL?
 

habaholic

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Feb 27, 2002
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FrankMTL said:
Love what this poster wrote on the London Knights board:

"I have been watching London Knights hockey since the 1973-74 season, seen many great defensemen playing for the Knights, the likes of Scott Campbell, Rick Green, Rob Ramage, Brad Marsh, Steve Smith, Nick Stajduhar, Rick Corriveau, Dennis Wideman, Danny Syvret and Marc Methot Olli Maatta and I know I am missing some other greats. Victor Mete is in my opinion the very best defenseman I have seen in a Knights uniform over these years, yes a very big congrats to a small man doing big things for the Knights !!"
Click to expand...

Wow! That's huge praise.
 
LastWordArmy

LastWordArmy

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Adam Michaels said:
After the OHL playoffs, is he clear to join the Ice Caps or Habs in time for playoffs seeing as he's under contract now? Maybe this is why they signed him now instead of waiting another year?
Click to expand...

He would likely sign an ATO and join the IceCaps yes.

He could join the Habs, but highly unlikely he's ready to play.
 
Whitesnake

Whitesnake

If you rebuild, they will come.
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CrAzYNiNe said:
Not that I know much about this kid, but I wouldn't be heart broken if with the great season he had, be part of a trade that can help us acquire some help for right now.

Not saying that Victor Mete needs to be traded, but I would like to see MB take a risk and trade a guy with some high value based on potential to help fill some nagging holes. This kid looks to be 3-5 years away from being NHL ready (his size is an issue, not sure how he handles the size of men in the NHL)

Clearly I have more questions than answers, however given that he has progressed year after year in the OHL, that may be something other GMs will see along with positive information coming from their scouts that make him a desirable asset to acquire in a rebuild.
Click to expand...

As of now, while he was downright impressive, I can bet you that there are a lot of GM that still wonder how his game will translate because of his size. HIs value is MUCH better with us than in a trade point of view.
 
habergeon

habergeon

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Apr 15, 2015
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FrankMTL said:
Love what this poster wrote on the London Knights board:

"I have been watching London Knights hockey since the 1973-74 season, seen many great defensemen playing for the Knights, the likes of Scott Campbell, Rick Green, Rob Ramage, Brad Marsh, Steve Smith, Nick Stajduhar, Rick Corriveau, Dennis Wideman, Danny Syvret and Marc Methot Olli Maatta and I know I am missing some other greats. Victor Mete is in my opinion the very best defenseman I have seen in a Knights uniform over these years, yes a very big congrats to a small man doing big things for the Knights !!"
Click to expand...

I know it's the views on one guy / gal, but I love hearing stuff like this. By all reports, this contract was earned and he is one of the best D men in the OHL. Great draft pick in hindsight.

Whitesnake said:
As of now, while he was downright impressive, I can bet you that there are a lot of GM that still wonder how his game will translate because of his size. HIs value is MUCH better with us than in a trade point of view.
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I agree 100% that there are a lot of GM's that feel that way.

I remember a very undersized Greg Hawgood coming out of junior (yes, I'm old), and a lot of scouts / GM's viewed his offense as NHL caliber, but there were concerns about his size and how his strength and ability to compete would translate to the NHL. Heart of a lion, body of a cub. He did OK, but wasn't what he was in the W.

That's why I like that you used the word game instead of size when talking about translating Mete's , because really in today's NHL not that size is irrelevant but it isn't as overly important in my opinion. I think positionally he'd fantastic, he thinks the game the right way and his offensive instincts have been fantastic.

Its going to be interesting to see how his skating and strength translate to the pro game to compliment what he's already showing. I don't usually get too excited for mid round picks, even if they are on my favorite team, but this kid has been nothing short of amazing on a team of amazing players.
 
CrAzYNiNe

CrAzYNiNe

who could have predicted?
Jun 5, 2003
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Whitesnake said:
As of now, while he was downright impressive, I can bet you that there are a lot of GM that still wonder how his game will translate because of his size. HIs value is MUCH better with us than in a trade point of view.
Click to expand...

I keep hearing this, I imagine that's the case for almost any prospects not named McDavid or Matthews.

He seems to have the same size as Ryan Ellis, Torey Krug, Tyson Barrie, Jared Spurgeon, Troy Stecher, Sami Vatanen, Brian Campbell. So it's not impossible if what the scouts say is true about his vision and foot speed.

We need help now if we want to win a cup in the next 2-3 years. We can't hang on to these prospects thinking they will all pan out to be NHL starters.

In a pessimistic light, we might as well hang on to him for the rebuild once Price walks away as a UFA... :sarcasm:
 
LastWordArmy

LastWordArmy

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Adam Michaels said:
Do you think this is why they signed him to his ELC right away instead of waiting until next year? Or am I off here with my theory?
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Its a small cap savings to sign guys to ELCs early. Basically any year that a contract slides means whatever portion is "signing bonus" can be spread over 4 years instead of 3. His contract likely begins in 2017-18, so it will be one year of ELC slide.

Its small though... $30,000 or so max can be saved on a cap hit by this, so I'm not sure that's the reason, though every penny can count down the road.

I think its more that they have faith in the kid, so get the contract done now, instead of waiting til next year. If he has a really good year he can hold you hostage and threaten to go back in the draft. This way the deal is done, and you don't have to worry about that.

It also makes him likely to sign the ATO and go to St. John's if London is out. I think that's something even more valuable than being a black Ace... a few AHL games for him.
 
L4br3cqu3

L4br3cqu3

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Aspirine said:
Great, now sign his pairing partner, Potatoes!
I know, I know. It's not pronounced meat.
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Honestly wouldn't mind Crawley, not that I expect anything great from him at the next level, but he's tenacious in his zone, and pretty physical, who knows.

As for Mete, damn, I dream of Brian Rafalski v2 with us...
 
Whitesnake

Whitesnake

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CrAzYNiNe said:
I keep hearing this, I imagine that's the case for almost any prospects not named McDavid or Matthews.

He seems to have the same size as Ryan Ellis, Torey Krug, Tyson Barrie, Jared Spurgeon, Troy Stecher, Sami Vatanen, Brian Campbell. So it's not impossible if what the scouts say is true about his vision and foot speed.

We need help now if we want to win a cup in the next 2-3 years. We can't hang on to these prospects thinking they will all pan out to be NHL starters.

In a pessimistic light, we might as well hang on to him for the rebuild once Price walks away as a UFA... :sarcasm:
Click to expand...

And yet.....despite their CLEAR AND EVIDENT skills....only Ellis was taken in the 1st round. Krug and Stecher were NEVER drafted. Barrie, despite being close to a PPG and having incredible playoffs went in the 3rd round. Spurgeon went in the 6th, Vatanen in the 4th, and Campbell in the 6th.....So tell me again how those guys have the favour of hockey management again. So no, it's not the case for every player. You have guys like Rundblad or Tim Erixon who seemed to have 1000 lives. And plenty of others too who, strangely, have the size that goes with how eternal they seem to be. So if your point is "we cannot hold to them thinking that one day they might be NHL starters", again, it's possible that other teams think that way too.

It's not about refusing to trade him. It's about thinking that his value, as of right now, is still not worth to be traded. But if incredibly enough, we DO find a guy who wants to pay a huge price for him....go right ahead. I always say...it's not who you trade, it's who you acquire. Just don't think he has the value that will make us get a Cup in the next 2 or 3 years. But yeah, I know...we can build a package that could. Maybe.

And Mete, while I never thought he'd be available after the 2nd round or 3rd round, went in the 4th. Made no sense then. Makes even less sense now. Still....we need to see how his pro package will develop. I would say that you had a great indication last year of what he could do this year. And clearly wasn't interesting enough for a lot of teams who let him slide. Now...are they convinced after just 1 year and ready to send away a great player to us? We could call....just not sure how happy we will be with the result of that call. But call anyway...
 
CrAzYNiNe

CrAzYNiNe

who could have predicted?
Jun 5, 2003
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Montreal
Whitesnake said:
And yet.....despite their CLEAR AND EVIDENT skills....only Ellis was taken in the 1st round. Krug and Stecher were NEVER drafted. Barrie, despite being close to a PPG and having incredible playoffs went in the 3rd round. Spurgeon went in the 6th, Vatanen in the 4th, and Campbell in the 6th.....So tell me again how those guys have the favour of hockey management again. So no, it's not the case for every player. You have guys like Rundblad or Tim Erixon who seemed to have 1000 lives. And plenty of others too who, strangely, have the size that goes with how eternal they seem to be. So if your point is "we cannot hold to them thinking that one day they might be NHL starters", again, it's possible that other teams think that way too.

It's not about refusing to trade him. It's about thinking that his value, as of right now, is still not worth to be traded. But if incredibly enough, we DO find a guy who wants to pay a huge price for him....go right ahead. I always say...it's not who you trade, it's who you acquire. Just don't think he has the value that will make us get a Cup in the next 2 or 3 years. But yeah, I know...we can build a package that could. Maybe.

And Mete, while I never thought he'd be available after the 2nd round or 3rd round, went in the 4th. Made no sense then. Makes even less sense now. Still....we need to see how his pro package will develop. I would say that you had a great indication last year of what he could do this year. And clearly wasn't interesting enough for a lot of teams who let him slide. Now...are they convinced after just 1 year and ready to send away a great player to us? We could call....just not sure how happy we will be with the result of that call. But call anyway...
Click to expand...

I agree with everything you are saying, I only mentioned names of other players with similar stature to prove that it isn't impossible for a player his size to transition into an NHL regular.

I would by no means think that we can trade him straight up for a piece that we are missing, but I would mention his name and see what people are saying about him.

You're right, he fell to a 4th round pick, which seemed unlikely as a lot of pundits had him easily in the top60 of the draft. But doesn't that just prove that NHL teams are scared of size and unwilling to take that risk at the draft? But the Habs took the risk, and well so far it looks like a solid pick as he has been proving that he belongs in the Knights starting lineup. Maybe one year hasn't been enough for teams to second guess their draft choice, but Mete is certainly solidifying his name as a player with potential.

I'm not saying dangle him 1 year after he was drafted, but I would like to think that MB could use him in a trade in the near future, maybe next deadline to get a player that can help this team over the hump. Quite a few UFAs to be at the end of 2017-2018 (excuse me to all those who don't realize this forum is called "hockey's future" and yes I am talking about this team beyond this year playoff) like Fowler, Sbisa, Carlson, Vlasic, Green, Johnson maybe he can be in a package to get one of those players.

All I am saying is I don't want to hold on to all our prospects for dear life only to trade them away for other problem prospects like we did with so many.
 
themilosh

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Any pick after the 3rd round imo should be "take a chance". This kid is 5'10" as a D man... that is nit appealing at all. So if he turns out to be a perfect passer, and speed like lird Byron then he "might" have a chance as a 3 pairing 2nd PP duty type career. Not bad at all for a 4th rounder.
 
montreal

montreal

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to be expected since the kid had a breakout season this year. He scored as many goals this season as he had in his OHL career going into this season. It will be interesting to see how he does at the pro level after next season.
 
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